F1 | Verstappen: “Excellent start, even better than expected”

Red Bull and Max Verstappen's season couldn't have started in a better way, with a one-two to remember. After taking pole on Saturday, the Dutchman put on a show of strength by stretching from the start of the race to a comfortable lead which allowed him to extend the opening stint on the soft, while others preferred to bring forward the stop to move on to the hard ones.

Even more significant is the pace in the second stint on the hardest compound of the three available at the weekend, because the Dutchman increased his pace to one minute and thirty-seven minutes only after 17 laps from the start of the run, on the pace which, instead, they more or less held their rivals at the start of their respective stints on the hard tyre. Although there are clearly some corrections to be made regarding fuel, this is only one of the various elements of how much the Red Bull driver was in control of the race, being able to manage the lift and coast up to the finish line.

Under the checkered flag, in fact, Verstappen passed with a lead of 22 seconds over Sergio Perez, who finished behind him, while the gap rose to 25 seconds over the first of the non-Red Bull cars, namely the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz. The problems suffered by Charles Leclerc with the brakes and those by George Russell regarding the temperatures of the Power Unit further eased the pressure, although it was already clear from the first laps that the Dutchman had the margin to manage the situation.

“I think today went even better than expected, the car was pleasant to drive on every compound. I think we had a lot of pace, it was really a pleasure today, we stayed out of trouble. Excellent start to the season, I couldn't ask for anything better,” explained Verstappen at the end of the race, thus starting his 2024 in the best possible way.

“I think the start was good, but the first corner is a very tight hairpin and you want to defend the inside to be safe, and that's what we did. Then we concentrated on our race.”

One of the points highlighted by Verstappen was the driving efficiency, as well as the feeling with the car, with an RB20 particularly pleasant to drive in the race, also keeping in mind that the wind had dropped compared to qualifying day. Elements that allowed him to manage the race and win his first trophy of the season, picking up where he left off last year.

“It was fun, I felt very comfortable in the car, it's always special to have days like these because they don't happen often, where everything is perfect and you're one with the car, everything went great.”